UK competition watchdog approves Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba robot vacuum maker iRobot
- The deal strengthens Amazon’s position in the ‘smart devices’ market
- CMA said the deal ‘will not lead to competition concerns in the UK’
Amazon’s $1.7bn (£1.3bn) acquisition of the company behind the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner has been given the green light by Britain’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority, which is separately investigating the online retail giant’s UK marketplace, said Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot could proceed after a two-and-a-half month investigation.
The regulator determined that the deal “will not lead to competition concerns in the UK” as Amazon takes steps to strengthen its position in the “smart devices” market.
CMA: ‘More people are choosing to use ‘smart’ technology at home’
Amazon unveiled the $61-per-share, all-cash deal in August 2022, with the tech giant’s then senior vice president of appliances, Dave Limp, praising iRobots’ ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical. and being inventive.
iRobot was born in 2002 with the introduction of Roomba, which has since sold millions of units worldwide.
The company describes itself as “a global consumer robotics company that designs and builds thoughtful robots and intelligent home innovations that make life better.”
The CMA was concerned that the acquisition could unfairly penalize iRobot’s rivals, among other things.
But the watchdog’s investigation, launched in April, found that iRobot’s market position in the UK was “modest” with “several key rivals” and therefore the acquisition would have “no material impact on market outcomes.”
The CMA also said that while Amazon could use its size to disadvantage these rivals, “it would lack the incentive to do so” as the benefits would be “limited.”
Colin Raftery, senior director of merges at the CMA, said: ‘More people are choosing to use ‘smart’ technology in their homes – whether that means listening to the radio through a smart speaker, answering the door with keep a video doorbell or floors cleaned with robot vacuum cleaners.
It is therefore important to ensure that technology companies that already benefit from powerful positions cannot use those positions to undermine competitors at the expense of UK consumers and businesses.
“Here, after a thorough investigation, we are satisfied that the deal would not affect competition in the UK.”
Amazon still needs to get the green light from other antitrust regulators around the world.
A spokesperson said: “We look forward to similar decisions from other regulators soon.”